How LA Lawyer Dropped 90 Pounds, Became Iron Man

His demanding job as an in-house general counsel, difficulties with his marriage and adjusting to being a father made it easy for Steven Spitz to pack on the pounds.

Luckily, his job is at a nutrition-oriented company. With the help of a dietitian at Los Angeles-based Natrol, which manufactures and markets nutritional products, he refocused his eating habits about 18 months ago, reports the Daily Journal (sub. req.). And, never one for half-measures, Spitz, who is now 40, not only started exercising regularly but began training as a triathlete.

Now some 90 pounds lighter, at 160, than he was in early 2006, Spitz is competing next month in the Ironman triathlon in Hawaii. He is hoping not only to finish the course—which requires 2.4 miles of surf swimming, 112 miles of cycling and a 26.2-mile run—but to beat his personal best time.

“He said he had already beat his old half-Ironman record this year, one he set when he was 24,” the legal publication reports.

To get a place in the race, Spitz persuaded his company to purchase one offered in an eBay charitable auction.